


A Dish Best Served Hot

by Katraa



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: M/M, and be awkward together, and they eat pizza together, another pizzaboy au, aoba likes to comment on strange things, in an alternate universe, just like they always are, noiz is just amazingly difficult, this is just pointless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-16
Updated: 2014-01-16
Packaged: 2018-01-08 22:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1138291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katraa/pseuds/Katraa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Delivering pizza was a pretty simple job that even Aoba could manage until he became entangled with the resident of 202 and his strange antics.  Suddenly, the simple job he had come to known was not so simple anymore.  (otherwise known as another pizza-boy au)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Dish Best Served Hot

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sirenalley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirenalley/gifts).



> inspired by [this comic!](http://mayonaka-hibiki.tumblr.com/post/63626991416/self-indulgent-doodle-strip-of-pizza-boy-aoba-with) and partially by [this pizza-boy fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1134409) and gifted to the lovely stacie who i told i was writing this weeks ago and finally finished!!!! <3
> 
> I had been planning to write this since I first saw the comic and my desire returned when I saw someone else had decided to write up a story about the comic. So here's a second, slightly less-true-to-the-comic pizza-boy AU starring our lovely idiots Aoba and Noiz, with supporting character known as my bad sense of humor.

 

There was something inexplicably comical, and yet so very wrong and tragic, about delivering pizza to Augustan Plaza.

Maybe it was that the building screamed elegance, or maybe that there was an emotionless doorman whose gaze never left him, or _maybe,_ just maybe, it was because living in this sort of place screamed wealth and who in their right mind would order from Heibon Pizza when you were that rich?

Aoba half-expected to be kicked out on his way to 202.  When he entered the elevator, a rather snooty woman with a unibrow and small dog in her purse - or was that an All Mate? - gave him a once-over.  Apparently she wasn't pleased with her findings, for the entire ride up to the second floor - albeit a short one - she kept making small noises under her breath, as if being in Aoba's presence was causing her extreme discomfort.  If Aoba had been a spiteful person, he would have commented on her bushy friend on her face as he quickly made his escape down the hall.

He had had this job for well over two years now, ever since he had started to fix his life.  His Grandmother had been very supportive and had tried to snag him a job elsewhere, but the only thing the pair of them could manage to find was a posting for a delivery-person needed on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.   It was a job and a job was what Aoba desperately needed, with no University degree to his name (and barely a high school one, at that).

It wasn't all bad, though.  His coworkers were cheery people that always had a story to tell and Aoba admittedly was a glutton, so it worked out.   He hadn't really encountered anything about the job he didn't like as of yet, but sometimes he wondered if people looked down on him when they saw his flashy hat, Heibon marked jacket, and box of steaming goodness in hand.  Then again, maybe those looks were of hunger and not distaste.  

This was his second time delivering to Augustan Plaza.   He had done it once a few months ago, he realized belatedly, but that was on a run with his friend Koujaku who had decided to come along for the ride to keep him company.  Now alone, Aoba found the place oddly stifling and a bit overdone.  

He vaguely remembered delivering to this same apartment, too, but couldn't remember any other details.  

So Aoba knocked on the door, pizza in both hands as not to drop it, pen and receipt on top ready for the "happy" customer.    

The door opened and his memory flooded back to him at once.    This _guy_.  He remembered this _guy_.  The guy with all those absurd piercings on his face.  When they had delivered the pizza last night, Koujaku had make cracks about him for a solid ten minutes after they left.   It was amazing that Aoba forgot in the first place.

"Hi!  Delivery for ah… Noiz?"  Aoba read the name slowly, struggling with the pronunciation, wondering if it had been a typo.

"Thanks."  The answer was curt and monotone as the piercing-guy reached over to sign the receipt.

Aoba watched him, gaze fixed to his hand so as not to meet his eyes.  People with piercings, from his experiences, tended to be "punks" and he really didn't want or need to venture back into his past.   No thank you.  Of course, staring at 'Noiz' as he signed the receipt meant spotting a few more piercings.  _Even on his hands?!_ Aoba thought with mild discomfort.  _Ow._

"Great…!"  Aoba smiled and balanced the pizza in one hand as he took the receipt off the top of the box to pocket it.  "…Hot peppers and pepperoni?  Really?" he murmured, gaze drifting over the top of the receipt.  

"Yeah."  Noiz barely seemed to notice as he took the box from the unmoving Aoba.

Feeling embarrassed that he had just been standing there, questioning his choice of dinner, Aoba quickly looked up to Noiz's face.  "W-well, enjoy!  Have a Heibon Day!"

"…a what?"  Noiz's indifference broke for a second, brow lifting up behind his bangs.

"What?"  Aoba echoed, panic setting in.  

"A Heibon Day," Noiz repeated, nose wrinkling as he spoke.

Aoba nervously laughed, hand going up to rub viciously at the nape of his neck.  "Oh that's… Well, we're Heibon Pizza and that's kind of our motto, you know?"

"Why?"

Oh jesus Aoba was not qualified to explain the reasoning behind the motto.  He was just a delivery boy!  Panic rooting him to the spot, Aoba's mouth opened to respond and then closed again, firmly.  _That's a good question_.   When he came up empty, he decided to make something up, "Well, if you're eating our pizza it's a Heibon day.  Like, man I just had a horrible day so now I'm indulging in some awesome pizza to make it better."

"So you're telling me to have an awful day."

"What?  No!"  Aoba blanched. "I meant, now that you're eating pizza everything is awesome and--"

"That's absurd."  Noiz shook his head.

"…Kind of," Aoba muttered, averting his gaze.  Uncertain as to what to do, Aoba nervously shoved his hands into his pockets and cleared his throat.  "Well, enjoy and thank you for ordering!"  He turned on his heel and quickly made his escape down the hall to the elevator, cheeks burning bright.   

It wasn't until he was safely back at Heibon that he realized when signing the receipt, the piercing-guy had decided to leave him a fifty percent tip.  

Aoba wondered if he regretted that.

*

It was the next night that Aoba was informed that he had to return to 202 to deliver yet another pizza.   Determined not to make a fool of himself again, Aoba took the pizza with the small amount of pride and dignity he had, murmuring to his All-Mate Ren the entire ride over that he was normally not this socially awkward and that it definitely had to be the piercings distracting him.

So, this time when Noiz answered the door, Aoba was ready.

"Delivery!" he said simply, smile bright and determination gushing through his veins.  There was no possible way he could screw this up.

"You took longer than before," Noiz murmured, not returning the smile whatsoever, as he reached out to sign the receipt presented before him on the pizza.

Aoba's smile dropped and shattered on the ground.  "W-what? I am?"

"Yeah.  Five minutes longer," Noiz said without looking up.

Aoba's gaze lowered, an odd sense of shame washing over him.   Of course, this allowed him to spy the receipt and-- was this guy seriously leaving him a tip the price of the pizza?!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Aoba alerted, flustering instantly.

"What now?"

"You can't leave me that much!"

"Why?"

"Because that's how much the pizza cost!"  Aoba wasn't sure if he was upset, flattered, or downright confused.

"So?"

"Didn't you just say I was late?"

"Yeah, but I'm hungry."

"That doesn't make sense…"  Aoba bit his bottom lip, frustration pooling in the bottom of his stomach.  Something about this guy's cool and stoic demeanor and inability to let Aoba catch a break really ground his gears.  Or maybe it was the piercings again.    "Anyway, I can't accept that!"

"Why?"

"Because it's too much," Aoba reiterated as Noiz took the pizza.   He took this opportunity to place his hands on his hips, standing akimbo, glaring slightly up at the other man.  "I won't do it.  I appreciate the gesture but--"

"So you won't take the money."  Noiz looked downright confused again.

"Absolutely not."  Aoba nodded firmly.

"But you're just a delivery-guy…" Noiz muttered, absently licking at his bottom lip as if the thought was very troublesome.   Aoba was about to interrupt with an offended, 'hey' but before he could, Noiz had leaned over to place a fleeting kiss upon his right cheek. In that moment, Aoba was certain his face matched the color of the sauce on Noiz's pizza.   He wasn't sure why his mind jumped to _that_ analogy, but his heartbeat and sweaty palms were probably the culprit.  

"Bye."

And with that, Noiz closed the door, leaving Aoba gaping.

*

The next time Aoba has to go to 202 - it's Tuesday again - he arrives with determination.  He's going to set this weirdo straight and tell him that he doesn't want his money, doesn't want to be sexually harassed, and most definitely meant well by telling him to have a Heibon Day!

When he arrives, Noiz answers the door just as curtly as usual, gaze meeting Aoba's with that practiced iciness.

"Noiz," Aoba said instead of his usual greeting.  "We need to talk."

"Don't girlfriends usually say that to their boyfriends?" Noiz deadpanned, not yet going for the receipt.

"W-what the hell?"  Aoba was yet again caught off guard, but instead of letting the offhanded comment destroy his resolve, he planted his feet more firmly on the ground and shook his head. "No, I meant about us."

"Us?"

"I mean, when I deliver here.  I don't want you to leave absurd tips or kiss me or whatever, ok?"

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?  I don't have to explain why," Aoba huffed, trying his best not to recoil.  "Listen, like I said, I appreciate it but--"  Something suddenly caught Aoba's attention.  The receipt, which usually read for a small pepperoni and peppers pizza this time was a large.    "…A large, really?"

"Yeah," Noiz said simply, reaching for the receipt.

Aoba watched him sign it, mumbling, "Geez, you must be hungry.  And you're so scrawny…"

Noiz must have heard him because when the receipt was signed, he didn't reach for the pizza.  "I am.  But I ordered it for you, too."

Aoba's eyes snapped up to Noiz's for what felt like the hundredth time since this whole awkward situation had begun.  "You what?"

"Ordered it for you."  Noiz cocked his head to the side, that stupid tongue of his peeking out to wet his lips.  "Eat with me."

"I don't even know you!"

"You've been here three times."

"You could be a serial killer."

"I'm not."

"I don't eat with strangers."

"But we're not."

"I'm not hung--"  Aoba began, desperately grabbing for excuses when his stomach chose that moment to gurgle loudly.  The noise resonated through the hall and Aoba felt his face warm considerably.  _Ah, how embarrassing…!_

"Eat with me," Noiz repeated, turning his back to head back into the apartment, leaving the door open.

Aoba remained fastened to the ground, pizza in hand, expression a mix of shame and confusion.   With hesitation, he eased a foot into the apartment and hurried a glance left and then right.  A really nice kitchen, an even nicer living room, no noticeable weapons or dead bodies hanging around.  After what seemed like an eternity, Aoba finally headed inside and brought the pizza over to the table Noiz had seated himself at.

"I'm only doing this because my shift is ending," Aoba said with a pout, sitting down.  "And because I haven't eaten all day."

"Is that really all?"

"Of course it is," Aoba muttered, arms folding across his chest.  The pout didn't leave.  "I don't make it a habit to eat with strangers.  It's dangerous."

"If you say so."  There was a shimmer of something in Noiz's gaze that caught Aoba off guard.   He had yet to see any kind of emotion, save for confusion, from this weird piercings-guy.    He felt oddly intrigued.

"You know," Aoba began, leaning forward in his seat a bit as Noiz scooped out a slice for the pair of them onto the plates he had brought over to the table, "I'm so used to your weird order by now that I started calling it the Pepper Party."

"…The what?"  Noiz had been about to take a bite but stopped midway.

"…The pepper party," Aoba continued, confidence waning.  "Y'know, like you get hot peppers and pepperoni…  They both have the same root.  Peppers."

"So you nicknamed it."

"Yeah."

"The Pepper Party."

"…Yeah."

"…Cute…"

Aoba wasn't entirely sure he heard right, but he was too hungry to care, and instead went about feasting on the slice of pizza Noiz had served him.  A happy coo escaped him seconds later.  For such a weird combination it was amazingly good and complimented the mix of cheeses Heibon was famous for.  

"Ah, Noiz, this is really good…!"

The corners of Noiz's lips twitched up and something downright lewd flickered across them.  "Really?"

Aoba sensed the pervasion and shot him a dirty glare. "…You're a perverted brat.  I didn't mean it like _that_ …"

"Of course you didn't."  Noiz shrugged, though the smirk refused to leave.     Uncertainly, Aoba returned to his pizza.

After Aoba's second bite, he began making weird faces.   Noiz seemed to notice this because he paused his meal yet again to stare at his guest rather quizzically.  

"These peppers are really hot," Aoba all but moaned, licking his lips and breathing out to try to subdue the heat. 

"…They're hot peppers."

"I know that, brat!"  Aoba pouted even more before he hurriedly got to his feet and went to the sick, dipping his head down for a sip of water.

"I have glasses," Noiz deadpanned, but there was a quiet chuckle that followed that made the emotionless roar a bit endearing.

When Aoba was finished destroying the mini-fire in his mouth, he marched back to his seat and finished his slice, refusing to let that embarrassing sight happen again.  What an absurd night this was turning out to be!  The rest of the meal was wrapped in silence and when they were finished, Aoba politely excused himself, saying he had to be back before dark to assist his Grandmother with chores, and that he was grateful for the meal, as unconventional as it was.   He wasn't entirely sure if that was a smile on Noiz's face as he left, but he didn't think too hard about it.  

*

The next time Aoba visited Augustan Plaza, the star of the pepper party was not joining him, and he couldn't help but wonder much to his chagrin that Noiz had done it on purpose.  Because Aoba didn't like the hot peppers all that much.  When Noiz paid, Aoba was quick to scurry away before he could trap him in another conversation or invite him in.  This was strictly a business relationship and he needed to keep his priorities straight.   If his boss caught word that he was flirting around with one of their best customers, he would definitely be due for a stern talking to, or worse, be fired.  Neither option set well for Aoba and he resolved to end this buddy-buddy thing with Noiz.

*

He never got the chance to, though, because Noiz stopped ordering on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  In fact, Aoba learned through Clear, his coworker, that Noiz was barely ordering at all, and that the Pepper Party was no longer a happening place to be.

Aoba wasn't sure why but he felt almost disappointed.  As much as he had told himself that he wouldn't get involved with this weird stranger, he had been looking back on their encounters with a sort of weird fondness.  As strange as Noiz was, what with the piercings and the incessant questioning and tipping, he had been sort of cute and oddly endearing.   And it wasn't like Aoba hadn't dated and flirted with guys before, but he had been so out of practice ever since his ex that the very idea of getting tangled up with someone again had never crossed his mind.  At least, until he stopped seeing Noiz and realized belatedly that he may have been developing the tinniest of crushes on the strange brat.

So he did something stupid.

Something that would probably get him fired.

After begging Clear to make the infamous pizza, he headed over to deliver it to Noiz.

*

When Aoba arrived, it took longer than usual for Noiz to answer.   When he did, his expression said it all before he even had a chance to open his mouth.  "I didn't order anything."

"I know, but this is for you."

"But I didn't order it."

"Don't be a brat. It's Wednesday and you always used to get pizza on Wednesdays and it's your favorite--" Aoba began, slipping off into an embarrassed, nervous rant.   It was only when Noiz moved to shut the door that he realized he was failing.  Panicking, he reached out (managing to balance the pizza in the other) to grab the door before it could shut.

"Wait, Noiz!"

"What?"

"…Uh… just."

Noiz blinked back at him.

"…I bought this.  So we could share."

"You bought it?"

"Yeah."

"And you delivered it."

"…Well, yeah, I'm here--"

"That's cute."

"Excuse me!?"  Aoba flustered again and was about to go off on a tangent when Noiz leaned forward and very softly pressed their lips together.  A warm rush swept across Aoba at the kiss and he nearly dropped the pizza in the process, had it not been for Noiz holding on to the other edge of it with his free hand.  When the kiss ended and Noiz moved his head back, Aobs shot him the most scandalized look he could possibly muster up after such a nice kiss.

"Tch… I thought you had turned me down."

"…What?"

"When you wouldn't take the tip or eat with me again.  I thought you turned me down."

"Brat, that wasn't asking me on a date!"  Aoba made another ridiculous face.  "You were just being weird!"

"It's called flirting, right?"

"Er…."

"You taste sweet."

"W-what the heck?"  Aoba rubbed at his cheek and flicked his gaze away, heart beating absurdly fast.  "You're a weird guy…"

"So will you have dinner with me?  Since you kindly brought it over."

"That was the plan, idiot…" Aoba managed to breathe out.

"Cool."

And that was how he started dating weird-piercing guy that ordered pizza way too much, questioned the stupidest things, kissed absurdly well, and had the sweetest and rarest smile in the entire world, according to Aoba.  Noiz was almost better than pizza.  

Almost.


End file.
